SmartPlanet: Lucky you, you missed the hurricane! Did you think it was going to be bad?

CM: The forecasts said it was going to be a tropical storm in DC, so I moved a few bits of outdoor furniture in, and locked up. But I didn't think it was going to be very bad there, no. I did change my flight because I was afraid that it might not get out on Sunday. But now it seems DC is functioning normally.

SmartPlanet: You're from New Orleans, so Katrina personally impacted you. How does Hurricane Irene compare to Katrina?

CM: To me there's hardly any comparison. Irene was, at its peak, a Category 3 hurricane, and a Category 1 at landfall in the United States. Katrina was a terrifying Category 5 whose minimum central pressure dropped down to 902 millibars.

We got worked up about Irene because of the track the storm was on--and it did focus needed attention on the vulnerability of New York City.

But I'm afraid to say, an East Coast hurricane will arrive some day with the potential to do vastly more damage than Irene.

SmartPlanet: Now millions are without power. The storm surge is causing flooding. What do you think the long term impact of a storm like this will have? What's the solution?

CM: The upshot is that if a Category 1 hurricane can do this to the East Coast, just imagine a stronger storm, surfing atop a higher sea caused by global warming.

We can't move coastal cities. We should be building vastly stronger sea defenses right now, before it is too late. That goes for New York most of all.

CM: Global warming has already raised sea levels somewhat, so every storm can push water further inland before. Global warming probably also increases the rainfall of each storm, once that storm comes to exist--and this may exacerbate damaging flooding.

But beyond that, I find it odd to try to link global warming to a Category 1 landfalling storm that just happened to be on a particular track up the East Coast. There are hurricanes every year, and where Irene ended up had vastly more to do with the atmospheric steering currents than anything else.

That said, there are many cities in the U.S. that are deeply vulnerable to storm surges from powerful hurricanes, and global warming only makes this risk worse over time. Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Tampa Bay/St. Petersburg, Houston/Galveston, and New York/Long Island are among the most vulnerable, and all need to be taking steps to protect themselves.

SmartPlanet: Well Hurricane Irene was the first hurricane of the season. Any idea what the rest of the hurricane season holds?

CM: I expect several more hurricanes this year, and perhaps a few more very strong ones. We're nearing the peak of the season, but the busiest time continues until late October.

Sometimes, as in 2004 when four hurricanes hit Florida, the steering patterns set up a certain way for a season and the storms follow similar tracks. Let's hope this isn't a year like that.